These majestic beasts are slain for sport’

POSING up for sickening photos, here are the Brits who slay zebras for cheap thrills on South African safari holidays.

One of the tour operators, Andy Denson, posted his vile snap as a souvenir of a hunt on his Facebook page.

Thrill-seeker Pete Livesey smiles beside his bleeding “trophy” in another picture that will horrify animal lovers.

On the website of the popular Huntershill Safaris, Livesey says of his experience of killing an animal: “Never had so much fun with my pants on.”

Six other British tourists, including a woman, also grin after gunning down zebras for trophies on the website of another company called Umlilo Safaris.

The zebra is classified as vulnerable on the International Union of the Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species.

Yet the creatures are one of the most popular trophies for UK hunters – with hundreds of body parts hauled back here in recent years.

They are hunted on the South African plains, where it is not illegal.

In the UK a ban on the import of sick souvenirs from trophy-hunters such as Denson and Livesey is now being urgently considered by government ministers.

Zac Goldsmith, animal welfare minister, told the Sunday People this week: “I look at the photos and it turns my stomach.”

Slaughter

Mr Goldsmith pledged a consultation on stopping the imports of trophy hunt parts with view to stopping this vile trade.

Hunter Denson is one of the country’s top taxidermists – turning murdered animals into ghoulish figures to be hung on walls.

He is also cashing in by helping to set up trips to slaughter big game, claiming it is for conservation.

The 55- year- old f r om Padiham,

Lancs, is listed as the UK agent for

Thaba Thala

Safaris – popular with hunters from the UK.

Wealthy

Brits have bragged about t heir cruel exploits during the trips, which start at £4,340 for seven days.

Hunters can add animals to kill from a list of 44 species, including £500 to add a zebra and £900 taxidermy fees.

But Eduardo Goncalves of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting branded the safaris as evil.

He said: “So many of Africa’s greatest wild animals are already suffering thanks to the vile trophy hunting industry.

“Now zebras have joined the list. In April last year zebras were officially listed as v ul nerable. The Grévy’s zebra species is listed as endangered. What is it going to take to stop these killers from wiping out our wildlife completely?

“Unbelievably, there are hardly any legal restrictions on shooting zebras for fun.” Denson, who has been a taxidermist for 25 years, boasts how he has slaughtered “every species in the eastern Cape” of South Africa and how he “love hunting but love hunting alongside my son even more”.

On his website he adds: “I was born and bred in the countryside and feel I understand country life and the wildlife that lives within it.

“For the past 25 years I’ve provided a full taxidermy service mounting birds, mammals and specialising in deer, African and exotic shoulder and pedestal mounts from my studio in Padiham,

Lancashire. In the early 1980s my family relocated to the eastern cape of South Africa where they have lived ever since.

“My auntie was a manager on one of the biggest privately owned game reserves in South Africa and for the past 20 years I have spent most of my time studying and hunting there.

“I have been glad to see my son follow in my footsteps to become a very well respected professional hunter and fisherman

taking clients